Rodriguez: Linear Scleroderma

I went to the ER and was unable to receive a diagnosis.

I have lived with linear scleroderma since 1999. I was eighteen when I was first diagnosed and I was unaware of what I was in for. Being from a small city in Texas was even harder because at the time I was the only case and there was little information on linear scleroderma.

It was February 5,1999, when I first noticed the discoloration in my leg and how stiff my skin was. I went to the emergency room and was unable to receive a diagnosis.

Finally in April of 1999 a biopsy was conducted and I was diagnosed with linear scleroderma. I later moved to Pennsylvania with my brother to look into going to school, but my leg seemed to get worse.

I was then taken to a rheumatologist who started me on Methotrexate injections which later changed to pill form when I was referred to Dr. Alan Friedman in Houston, Texas.

I have lived with scleroderma for the past eight years and I have been off of Methotrexate for the past two years. Little by little pigmentation is coming back into my leg and there are times I still feel joint pain but I have gotten through it.

ISN Story Editor: Judith Thompson Devlin

United Way of Central New Mexico
United Way of Snohomish County
See ISN News for recent donors, including Juliet Youkhana; and donations in loving memory of Jim Miller and Arlene Marie Petulla.Click Here to Donate or Shop
or click on the floating green DONATE sclero.org button.

SCLERO.ORG is the world leader for trustworthy research, support, education and awareness for scleroderma and related illnesses, such as pulmonary hypertension. We are a service of the nonprofit International Scleroderma Network (ISN), which is a 501(c)(3) U.S.-based public charitable foundation, established in 2002. Meet Our Team, or Volunteer. Donations may also be mailed to: